Hey Fins: Don’t Break My Heart

I joke that I have been a Miami Dolphins fan since I was in the womb. It’s a possibility—my Dad is a die-hard fan, and I know way too much about the 1972 perfect season for someone who was born in 1978. (I can just picture grainy footage of Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Nick Buoniconti, and the rest of the No-Name Defense.) But to be a Dolphins fan is to know dashed hopes and disappointment, year after year. Imagine my excitement this morning when the lead story on SI.com was that Dolphins were the team to beat in the AFC East. Could this year be different? Could this year be there year that the Dolphins are actually consistently good?

My earliest memories of the Dolphins date from 1984. Led by a very young Dan Marino, the team went 14-2 and eventually lost to Joe Montana and the 49ers in Super Bowl 19. Unfortunately for me, that’s as good as they’ve been in my lifetime.

The franchise’s Wikipedia profile is littered with phrases like “struggled with defensive injuries,” “stumbled late [in the season]”, and “disastrous year.” In the 1990s, the team developed a nasty habit of playing only their first 8 games. When they actually made the playoffs, the Dolphins were often sent home in humiliating early defeats, such as losing to Buffalo in the first round in ‘95, or even worse, losing 62-7 to the Jaguars in ‘99.

I hold Dan Marino responsible for many of those difficult times, particularly in the late ‘90s. Marino was one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game, but he was also injury-plagued in the last two-thirds of his career. Instead of chasing the elusive championship title until he was 38, Marino should have retired years before he did.

The millennium has seen instability in the coach and quarterback slots, and now it looks like the front office may finally have figured out those problems. Former LSU coach Nick Saban went 9-7 in his first season in the pros, including a six-game winning to end the year. (We fans are used to those winning streaks happening at the beginning of the year, not the end!) In the offseason, the Dolphins acquired injured quarterback Daunte Culpepper from the Vikings, bringing a marquis player to the position for the first time since Marino’s departure.

So come on Fins. Let this be the year. Let this be the year I go back to my parents’ house and dig out my ancient Horrible Hankie from 1985. Let this be the year I wear my vintage Dolphins winter hat with pride in Jets territory. Let this be the year that your corny fight song actually tells the truth.

UPDATE: It turns out that 2006 was just another typical year for the Dolphins. They finished with a losing record, and Nick Saban is persona non grata in Miami. He’s much more successful in college football.

I write this update on December 27, 2008. After going 1-15 in 2007, the Dolphins finished this regular season 11-5 and as AFC East Champions. That the final victory came against the hated Jets made it even sweeter.